The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-06-16

ceive immediate attention. Bankers,
Messrs. Misery & Iron, London
'sThere is no entrance fec Of any kind"
From the first Mr. Hailstone's under
taking assumed gigantic proportions, and
the interest occasioned by his manifesto,
As soon as it's genuineness and solidity
were put beyond question, appeared very
considerable indeed.
Ninety-three English publishers were
upon our authors track Immediately, aid
double that number Of American ones also
busted themselyes-not with HailstOne,
but his writings. Though he made no
money in America, however, Felix came
fairly well out of much piracy and tribu
lation; for, amidst reproduction, reviews
and reproaehes, he was read, and the laws
Of international copyright, for once,
played an authors game in spite of him
self.
At home matters fell out differently
Hailstone became a notable man; "a good
deal was written of him and his books;
these latter suddenly acquired extrinsic
value, and the English rights Of repro
ducing them were paid for in sums of
three figures.
New editions of Hailstone became the
order of the day, and hardly man or
woman, though he or she might have no
intention of actually participating in the
coming contest, but bought one at least of
tho now celebrated novels.
Then was The Torch" relighted; then
did the ''ShOckers'' pile themselves feet
high on the book stalls, and the historic
tome extend its pOnderOus form; for thou
sands of eager brains were devoting them
selves To Hailstone and all his works.
Certain novels-perhaps ten in all
their author refused to republish, thereby
giving rise to much excitement, much
despair among those who could not pro-
cure the works in question, much jubila-
ton among those who did.
Literary papers, amidst their chronicles
of rare book finds, imminent sales of
scarce publications, and SO forth, would
contain such items of news the follow
ing:
Mr. Jones, of Peckham Rye, was for
tunate enough ON Friday last to discover
in a cupboard, unopened for many years,
Felix HailstOne's Fallen Angel novel
of which only thirteen copies are in exist
ence. The prologue has unfortunately
been eaten by mice"
Or this:
1.-TWO dustmen, in the exercise of their
vocation yesterday afternoon in West
kensington, simultaneously CHANGED upon
Ha2stone's Tiger Lily in n place where,
until the present sensation period, it
might naturally have been expected. The
scavengers came to blows, and VOW each
is said to posses half the book. 1t parted
at page 207.'
This novel, we may mention, was ex-
ceedingly rare, and the two portions Were
purchased by n company of ten specula
tors who farmed 1.-The Tiger Lily with
care and success until another copy turned
up in Yorkshire.
People got into prison over the Hail
stone competition also-a sure sign that
the scheme was doing well Many spuri-
Gus volumes purporting to be from Hail
stones pen appeared; but there was in
these, invariably, some shadow of ability
or interest which convicted the authors
without need of Felix's own disclaimer.
These gentlemen suffered at the hands of
justice, and nature herself was also re-
ported rs having victims to the Hailstone
competitions; but whether prolonged and
severe intercourse with our authors fic
ton really did on any occasion turn a
sane man into lunatic cannot now be
known with truth. Ten thousand pounds
is large sum of money, and men have
certainly before now risked the madhouse
for less than half of it.
In truth the laurels of fame rested at
last on Felix Hailstone's brow. Some
body brought out new pair of braces,
which rendered the domestic button a
thing of no further account, and to our
novelist was this revolutionary suspender
dedicated. Then a biography with por-
trait of Hailstone appeared; and gentle
man, who, il was rumored, would take u
prize in the competition, but who ulti-
mately failed to get among the first ten,
brought forward work entitled Hail
stoniana.'' The ''IIailstone Birthday
Book" also enjoyed some patronage and
ut theatre, where you went in with
out cost and then paid for programmes,
fresh air and other necessaries, brisk bust
ness was reported to be doing with some
thing ponderous and dismal attributed to
Hailstoue's carly youth.
Meantime our author kept his word to
the public, and, amidst all the labors arts
ing from his great undertaking, produced,
monthly, a brand new and original novel;
but not, it need hardly be said, at his own
expense Publishers bid high, and prob
ably never, since the earliest cave man
scratched a mark with one bone upon an
other, attached meaning to that mark and
thereby foreshadowed literature, has mat
ter, so innately valueless, become pos
sessed of greater value. Pages might be
devoted to incidents arising out of the
'Hailstone Competitions" but as these
would weary a dozen readers where they
amused one, it will be best to hasten on
toward the impending climax.
December waned, and letters began to
pour into Felix's office. No lists with
smallest chance of ultimate success, and
vast numbers were daily destroyed Tons
of waste paper had to- be carted away; the
WORKOUT clerks demanded an increase of
salary and got Is; newspapers each morn
ing published the names of those who
headed the poll; some sold their interest
in the affair to spectators. One
competitor, with total of $3.50,
who, on Dec %, stood very many points
ahead of any other, was offered 10000 for
his chance, but refused to take it; another,
whose list had been lost in the post, com-
m.ttc,l suicide.
With the Australian mail arrived be-
twccn 800 and GOO letters, but no cata-
logue among them could show any dam
gcrous numbers. America did far better,
however, and n competitor from New
York only just missed the third place ut
that stage of the contest. Two hundred
London letters came in with rush upon
the last day of all, and a crowd, many
thousands strong, saw the old year out
beneath the walls of the Huilstone Com
petition Office Long and patiently they
waited, till finally, ut O'Clock ON New
Years morning, with the city bells janG
ling i'll their ears, the result was made
known to them. \ blaze of electric light
illuminated the window upon which all
eyes had so long been fixed, and upon u
huge black board in letters two feet high
appeared the following legend:
Mr.. T. Jones'. London ............-.- GEO
Nj. p Williams London. -.-.........-.. 6:s9
Miss Amy Brown, London ..--.--...-.-. 5Sl4
London had won the competition out
right, and the hurricane of cheers which
greeted this fact was heard in the stiffness
of the night by solitary policemen at a
distance of miles from the scene of action.
Mr. Hailstone, in whose honor the
4
window after short pause and made the
following statement: